THE PENTAGON HAS NOT RELEASED an official list of those killed in the crash, but family members have identified several of them in interviews. Here’s a partial list:

NAVY SEAL DEREK BENSON, 29, of Angwin, Calif., was thinking of becoming a private pilot after leaving the military, his grandfather said. http://bit.ly/n5wJQE

BRIAN BILL, 31, of Stamford, Conn., another SEAL, was thinking of becoming an astronaut. http://bit.ly/ruXFnu

MASTER AT ARMS 1st CLASS SENGCHANH DOUANGDARA, 26, was a SEAL dog handler from South Sioux City, Neb. http://trib.in/rbaUAS

SGT. PATRICK HAMBURGER, 30, of the Nebraska Army National Guard, was a crew member aboard the CH-47. http://bit.ly/mRkMuZ

THREE OTHER CREW MEMBERS, specialists Spencer Duncan, 21, and Alexander Bennett, 23, along with pilot Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, 31, were Army Reservists based in Kansas City. http://bit.ly/nW2fKt

SEAL MATT MASON, 37, was from nearby Kearney, Mo. http://bit.ly/oML37k

CHIEF PETTY OFFICER ROBERT JAMES REEVES AND LT. COMMANDER JONAS KELSALL were high school friends from Shreveport, La., who ended up together again as SEALs. http://nyti.ms/p9s1lc

SEAL TOMMY RATZLAFF, 34, of Green Forest, Ark., has a baby daughter due in November. http://bit.ly/qIgPBZ

KEVIN HOUSTON, 36, of Hyannis, Mass., was another SEAL, who “died doing what he loved,” a longtime friend said. http://bit.ly/nSWlxe

KRAIG VICKERS, 36, of Hawaii was a Navy EOD expert attached to the SEAL team. http://bit.ly/qCQ0Up

AIRMAN DANIEL ZERBE, 28, of Red Lion, Pa., was a high school football standout who closely guarded the secret nature of his work, friends said. http://bit.ly/p35wPC

TECH SGT. JOHN W. BROWN was an Air Force pararescueman based at Pope Field in Fort Bragg, N.C. His death was confirmed by his mother, Elizabeth Herndon Newlun of Rogers, Ark. http://bit.ly/rnC9Zg

You can find other names that have become public here: http://bit.ly/rbGSpU

MEANWHILE, AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCIDENT is focusing on whether the rescue operation was really necessary, the Washington Post reports today. Military officials told the post that U.S. special operators on the ground were able to fend off insurgents on their own and even secure the crash site. http://wapo.st/mQukJs

ANOTHER THING INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING AT is whether it’s safe to land Chinooks in battle zones, McClatchy reports. http://1.usa.gov/qFyBCU

AS THE WAR GOES ON, DOUBTS ARE BEING RAISED about the ability of Afghan forces to take over the fight. Stars and Stripes reports today that some local officials in southern Helmand province estimate it may be a decade before their forces will be fully able to prevent the Taliban from retaking control, even in areas that now are peaceful. Read the story here: http://1.usa.gov/pDK2Lc

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